Covid-19: Pope Francis accuses anti-vaccines of "suicidal denial"

Pope Francis during a public audience in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican, October 7, 2020. Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

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In an interview given to an Italian television channel and broadcast on the evening of January 10, the Sovereign Pontiff recalled the need, according to him, to be vaccinated, also considering that he had difficulty understanding the opponents of vaccination.

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With our correspondent in the Vatican,

Éric Sénanque

In this interview at his home in the Vatican, Pope Francis looks back on many news, but it is especially on the Covid-19 pandemic that he is questioned at length, and on the question of vaccination in particular.

At 84 years old and one less lung lobe, the Pope is a person at risk.

He will be vaccinated, he confirmed.

For him, the choice is clear: vaccination is a necessity.

“ 

I believe that from an ethical point of view,

” he says, “

everyone should be vaccinated

.

It's not just an option, it's an ethical option.

Because you play with your health, you play with your life, but you also play with the lives of others

 ”.

Trust the vaccine

During this same interview, François also invites us to trust the medical community in the face of the many doubts that some have developed vis-à-vis the vaccine.

I don't know why some people say the vaccine is dangerous,” he

says.

If doctors present it as something that can be okay and does not present any particular dangers, why not take it?

There is a suicidal negationism on this subject that I cannot explain

”.

These words could cause controversy among skeptics and anti-vaccines, in the Catholic world to begin with.

The anti-Covid-19 vaccination will begin in the next few days in the Vatican on a voluntary basis with the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine as in Italy.

A few days ago, the Vatican invested in a gigantic freezer to store the doses of the vaccine.

To read also: Covid-19: as at Easter, the Vatican is preparing to experience a Christmas without the faithful

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